Leah McGinnis named new superintendent of Saguaro National Park

DENVER — Leah McGinnis, a 28-year veteran of the National Park Service (NPS), has been named superintendent of Saguaro National Park in Arizona by NPS Intermountain Region Director Sue Masica. McGinnis, who recently completed a four-month stint as acting superintendent of Saguaro, is superintendent of Capitol Reef National Park in Utah. She will begin her new assignment the week of Feb. 19.

“Leah is certainly no stranger to Saguaro. She also brings great experience leading and working with teams at Grand Canyon and in interim superintendent assignments in several of our Arizona NPS sites,” Masica said. “Her management and leadership background in building partnerships between parks and communities make her ideal for this key position.”

McGinnis became superintendent of Capitol Reef in 2013 after serving as chief of staff at Grand Canyon National Park. She spent 12 years at Grand Canyon, first as fee program manager and then in management posts including assistant to the superintendent, chief of partnerships, and supervision over employee safety, public affairs, workforce diversity, leadership development and the park’s volunteer program.

“Saguaro National Park is such a magical place. Being nestled against a vibrant urban center, it offers countless opportunities to collaborate and make partners in the community.” McGinnis said. “I look forward to re-joining our amazing Saguaro team and being part of greater Tucson and all that it and the park have to offer.”

Her previous NPS Arizona assignments also have included interim superintendent of the three Flagstaff area national monuments (Sunset Crater Volcano, Walnut Canyon and Wupatki), interim superintendent of Tonto National Monument near Phoenix and interim deputy superintendent of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Arizona and Utah.

She joined the NPS in 1988, working in the communications center in Yellowstone National Park. In 1993, she was promoted to dispatch supervisor at Glen Canyon. McGinnis later set up that park’s fee collection procedures under the NPS’s Recreation Fee Demonstration program, which directed most revenues from increased entrance fees back to parks to cover higher operating costs because of rising visitation.

McGinnis, a native of Montana, earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from Montana State University. She will move to Tucson with her husband, Mike, who was deputy chief ranger of Grand Canyon before retiring from NPS. Their adult son Justin lives in Tempe, AZ.